Purchasing Power

Submitted by World Crafts on Sat, 03/28/2015 - 11:13pm

What can $1 buy? We laugh and say “Not much these days!” Yet at any discount store, we find shelves filled with $1 items, everything from soap to balloons. We leave the store carrying $20 worth of those items. Somebody, somewhere is making those products we enjoy. Products that they themselves cannot afford to purchase because their earnings are less than $2 a day.
For those involved in Fair Trade, wage equality is at the forefront of concern. Fair Trade seeks to pay people a living wage for the work they do, empowering them to send their children to school and put aside some savings. Safe work conditions, long term relationships with buyers, concern for the environment, respect for cultural identity and childrens' rights are all Fair Trade conditions which improve the standard of living for families and communities.
So back to the question, what can $1 buy? It's all about choice; when you shop at a Fair Trade store, your dollars not only buy a product but help feed a family. Your dollars send kids to school. Your dollars lift up a community and empower people to rise above an oppressive system of poverty. Your dollars spent Fairly change lives.